1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to a cap and an ink-jet head protection assembly for protecting the jets during transport, for example, of an ink-jet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ink-jet heads that are used for ejecting ink droplets from the jets are known in which the jets are protected while they are transported or kept in storage. In one example of a recording head (ink-jet head), the recording head is kept in storage after a seal made of an acrylic adhesive is brought into close contact with the ink ejecting face and the recording head is put into a storage box made of conductive polystyrene and sealed in an aluminum pouch.
However, in this example, while the seal is kept in close contact with the ink ejecting face, the adhesive of the seal is transferred to the ink ejecting face. This may cause an event that the transferred adhesive closes or otherwise restricts the flow of the ink and, as a result, an ink ejection failure occurs when the ink-jet head is used.
One technique for protecting the jets without attaching an adhesive to the jets would be such as to use a cap which is formed with a recess and a tip portion of whose annular side wall can touch a peripheral portion of the ink ejecting face and a pressing means capable of pressing the cap against the ink ejecting face. That is, while an ink-jet head is transported, the pressing means presses the cap so that the tip portion of the annular side wall of the cap is kept in contact with the peripheral portion of the ink ejecting face. As a result, an enclosed space is formed between the ink ejecting face and the cap and the jets are protected by the cap. Since the cap and the ink ejecting face are merely in contact with each other and no adhesive or the like is used, the jets are not closed by an adhesive. The ink channels in the head are filled with a liquid (sealing liquid) for preventing deterioration of the ink ejecting characteristic during transport or storage.